Can anyone help me identify this?

[Illdoitinabit]

Can anybody help me identify this unit? Photo of half the label and unit attached. We think it may of been a welsh dresser at some point in its life as the top piece of wood isn't a full piece, if that makes sense? Thanks in advance!

That is really lovely!

It might not have been made by a big company. Some of my family were cabinet makers and would’ve made something like that. They were well known in a local town (not Chester) for 150 years but closed down in the 60s.

Have you tried posting on a local Chester Facebook group? Someone might know. For example if someone posted a photo of a label looking for the company that made anything my relatives made, I would know by the info, but couldn’t give them further info.

Oooo my Grandma had a similar unit and it had a top piece too. Will ask DM in the morning for info!

Do you think that’s a maker’s label? What does it say in full? It looks a little like the labels on some of the stuff we’ve bought at auction, where it’s been sold or stored in the distant past.

I’m very much an amateur here, but in years of hanging around antique shops I’ve never seen a Welsh dresser with such ornate carving; I think they were usually quite plain pieces and often made in pine. To me, that looks like a sideboard or buffet. Some Victorian and Edwardian ones had mirrored back panels, which later fell out of fashion and were removed. I think your piece might once have looked similar to this.

@TalesOfDrunkennessAndCruelty

Do you think that’s a maker’s label? What does it say in full? It looks a little like the labels on some of the stuff we’ve bought at auction, where it’s been sold or stored in the distant past.

I’m very much an amateur here, but in years of hanging around antique shops I’ve never seen a Welsh dresser with such ornate carving; I think they were usually quite plain pieces and often made in pine. To me, that looks like a sideboard or buffet. Some Victorian and Edwardian ones had mirrored back panels, which later fell out of fashion and were removed. I think your piece might once have looked similar to this.

Oooo that link is similar to what my grandmas one looked like! Either side of the mirror had cabinets too and in the middle there were carved spindles with a shelf between them running in front of the mirror! Hoping DM can shed more light when I message her tomorrow 🤞🏻 I was 7 when grandma passed away but have vivid memories of the sideboard / dresser as she gave me 50p to dust it on a Saturday 😂

Yes, after I posted I saw your post and thought your grandma’s sideboard must have been similar. Well done on earning 50p!

It looks like it could be Spanish Baroque style to me.

Thank you for your replies. Unfortunately that's all the label I have, the rest has worn off over the years. If it was a mirror on top then what a shame it was removed! It was my auntie who first bought this from a shop in Wales, about 20 years ago, so thats all the history we have on it! I had it off her about 2 years ago now.

I guess it doesn’t really matter. It fulfils William Morris’s maxim of “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” and it’s got family history. Enjoy it!